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Are your members motivated to change?
It's that time of year.
And most members are motivated to change.
And we are eager to tell them what to do
to accomplish their goals.
After all, that's our job, isn't it?
But what if telling our members what to do
isn't the best way to motivate them for long-term change?
I'm Angie Miller.
And that's what I want to talk to you about today.
Let's be real.
Most of us are more motivated to change when it's our idea, not
someone else's and when we feel like we're being supported
rather than told what to do.
That's the foundation of motivational interviewing.
It's a way to help members make positive change
and to support them throughout the process as a partner, not
a boss.
It's like sitting in the front seat as a passenger
but letting them take the wheel.
So, how do we do this?
We ask a few questions, and we listen
so we can understand what changes they want to make,
why change is important to them, and how ready they
are to make change.
These are open-ended and scaling questions.
And here's a few examples.
Number one, open-ended questions.
When a member tells you they want
to lose weight or some other goal,
we can ask open-ended questions that
can't be answered with a simple yes or no.
Some examples are, tell me how your life would be different
if you were at your goal weight?
Or how is your current diet affecting your life?
Or what makes you think that it might be time for a change.
Open-ended questions invite clients to explore
why change is important.
All that's required is that we listen without judgment,
and we allow clients to be heard rather than told what to do.
Number two, we can gain greater clarification
with scaling questions.
Scaling questions help us solidify importance,
gauge readiness, and spotlight barriers to change.
Scaling questions sound like this.
On a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being most important,
how important is it for you to lose weight, or eat healthier,
or whatever the goal might be?
Whatever their number, let's say, it's four,
we can then ask, why didn't you choose a lower number like two?
Asking why the number isn't lower
inspires them to talk about change in a positive way,
to realize their motives for making change.
If we ask why it's not higher, we invite obstacles and reasons
for staying the same.
Finally, we can ask, what would it
take to get you to a higher number, like five or six?
This inspires them to focus on solutions, ways
that change is possible rather than obstacles
that get in the way.
As the New Year, approaches members want to make change.
They have goals that they want to accomplish.
Instead of fixing them or telling them what to do,
we can offer our best support by listening
to gain understanding so we can guide and support them
along the way.
So, I'm Angie Miller.
I'm so glad you joined me here today.
I hope we'll continue connecting with on social media.
On Instagram I'm AngieMillerFitness.
And on Facebook and Twitter, I'm AngieMillerFit.
My website's AngieMillerFitness.com
Keep doing what you love and loving what you do.
I'll see you next week.